Dreams and Trust
by whatisarose100
Summary: Takes up right after Hook shows up at Emma's door to convince her that she is needed back at the Enchanted Forest. Despite her lack of memory, Emma agrees to go with him and re-meets all of the old Storybrooke gang in their home land to help them save it. Eventual Swan Queen magic!
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Swan." He gasped out.

"Do I know you?" Emma asked the stranger, positioning herself firmly in the opening.

"I need your help. Something's happened, something terrible. Your family is in trouble." The stranger's voice was somewhat shaky, his eyes pleading with a wild glimmer.

"My family is right here." She said thinking of Henry back at the table. "Who are you?"

"An old friend. Look, I know you can't remember me… but I can make you." He lunged forward and captured her lips in a determined kiss.

Emma, having been in similar situations- though none involving a pirate suit- instinctively brought her knee up to connect with his groin and she pushed him roughly out of the doorway back into the hall. "What the hell are you doing?!"

He grimaced through the pain, bringing himself to stand more upright. "It was a long shot; I had to try. I was hoping you felt as I did."

"All you're going to feel is handcuffs when I call the cops."

"Look, I know this seems crazy, but you have to listen to me; you have to remember-"

Emma slammed the door and heaved an exasperated sigh_. What the hell was that_, she thought. She made sure the dead bolt and chain were thrown, and then she returned to Henry in the apartment.

"Who was that?" her son asked without looking up from his scrambled eggs.

"No idea. Someone must have left the door open downstairs." _Maybe he's a crazy homeless person, _she mused. That would be simple enough to deal with. _But he knew my name…_ another, less convinced part of her whispered. "Come on, let's eat."


	2. Stranger at My Door

Chapter one

"Okay, kid. Have a good day. Am I picking you up or are you walking back with Gabe?" Emma put her beat up yellow bug in park in front of the chain-link fence that surrounded the playground of Madison Academy.

"I think I'll walk home. Thanks mom, see you later." Henry climbed out of the bug and grabbed his school bag from the back seat. He slammed the door shut- the passenger side door was really a pain- turned and walked up the sidewalk.

"Later gator. Love ya!" she yelled out the open window.

"You, too!" he called back with a smile.

Emma was just beginning to pull away from the curb when something- someone - caught her eye in the review mirror. "Dammit." She parked again and stepped out in to the street and walked around to the sidewalk. "Look, whoever you are, I will call the cops on you if you don't leave us alone!" she placed her hands on her hips in an attempt to seem more menacing.

The stranger from that morning quickly closed the gap between them and Emma found herself standing with her back pressed to her car. She franticly predicted how long it would take her to grab the tire iron from the back seat, just in case. She dually noticed he kept one hand inside his pocket.

"Emma, please. It's Killian." She stared blankly back at him. "Hook, Captain Hook!"

"Look, you're delusional! I don't know you!" _Holy shit, he thinks he's Captain Hook!_

"You just don't remember-"

"It's impossible for me to remember someone I've never met! Trust me, a pirate named Killian, I would have remembered you."

"Swan, would you please just listen to what I have to tell you."

"Nope, sorry, not interested." She quickly hoped in the car and sped away from the curb, leaving the pirate yelling after her on the sidewalk.

All during her morning shift as a secretary in a bail bonds office, Emma thought of the stranger that kept insisting they knew each other. _Just too weird… probably just a crazy person. He probably found out my name from someone in the building…_

She was walking out of the office towards her car when she noticed _him_ leaning against it. "What the hell? Do you seriously think I won't call the cops?"

"Just listen to me!" he pleaded. "I swear; I'm not here to harm you or Henry."

"How do you know my son!" he was now really beginning to scare her. She could handle it if he was just after her, but to hear he knew of Henry… her motherly instinct to protect her only son kicked into overdrive.

"Because I know you. Please, Emma, you have to listen and try to believe me. I do know you! I know Henry, I know Bealfire- Neal! I know Neal! And your parents-"

"Naming off everyone who's ever abandoned me won't help your case." The mention of Neal and her parents always managed to make her anger grow hot, especially when she was already on edge.

"I know you like cinnamon on you hot chocolate, and your favourite drink is Tequila. What about Ruby? The Croc- Rumple? And Bell and Grumpy and Granny and Regina; Henry's adoptive mother!"

Emma stared at him in shock. _Regina._ The name pricked an old, forgotten memory she could not place. That name also went with the dreams that have been haunting her sleep for nearly a year now; dreams of brown eyes, fire, blood red apples and purple smoke. "I have to go my second job," was the only reply she could formulate. She pushed her way past this man - who was definitely strange, but she was beginning to think perhaps not a strang_er_ – got in her car and drove off, hardly caring if she hit this creep.

Emma was surprised when she left the diner at 3:30 there wasn't a pirate waiting near her car. _Maybe he smartened up. Or the police got him. _She smirked at that last thought.

She drove home checking her review mirror more often than usual.

"Hey, Henry, are you home?" she kicked the front door shut with her heel, arms loaded down with groceries she had stopped off to get.

"Yeah, in here." He hollered from the couch.

"Get your butt here and help put groceries away." She set the bags down on the counter.

Henry, like the good son he was, immediately came into the kitchen to help his mother. "So, how'd it go at work?" he asked.

"Work was alright, but this weird guy kept showing up."

"The one from this morning?" he asked putting away a box of cereal.

"Yep, that's the one." She closed the fridge and looked at her son. "So, what'll it be tonight? Chinese, burgers, sushi or pizza?"

The teenager looked at his mother as if she had lost her mind. Obviously she knew what he would pick.

"Pizza!" they said together as Emma reached for the phone.


	3. A Leap of Faith

Chapter two

"So, who's your favorite?" Henry asked around a bite of vegetarian pizza.

"Umm, I think the Evil Queen." Emma said around her own bite while she looked at the screen as The Evil Queen from _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs _spoke her famous line, "Magic mirror on the wall; who is the fairest one of all?"

"But she's the _Evil Queen_! The Bad Guy," Henry exclaimed incredulously.

"I know. She just seems to be the character with the most depth. Prince Charming, we see him for like, 20 seconds and all he does is creep a girl, kiss her while she's 'dead' and bring her to his castle. Snow White, come on, who is dumb enough to eat an apple from a stranger in the middle of the woods AFTER the dwarfs told her to not trust anyone? Just saying. Plus, she's too perfect. It's a bit annoying. The 7 dwarves are cool, though." She mentally complemented herself on her arguments. "How about you? Who is your favorite?" she took another bite of pizza.

"I think Grumpy. He's cool."

"Very strong point. He is cool." They both fell into a comfortable silence to watch the dwarves sing _Hi Ho_. Just as the dwarves popped their noses on their beds as Snow White woke up, they both jumped at a knock at the door. Emma looked at her son with a scowl. "Please tell me you invited one of the guys over and that's them."

"Nope," he replied. "How much you wanna bet it's that same guy?" he grinned smartly.

"Just stay here, I'll be right back." She went to the door and unlocked the dead bolt, but kept the chain secure and opened the door and saw him. "What do you want now?" she asked him.

"The same thing I wanted earlier, Swan; just for you to listen to me." He took a step closer to the door and peered through the crack at the blond.

Emma sighed and shut the door in the pirate's face. Hook was just beginning to turn around when the door opened and Emma stood there, glaring at him. "Fine, I will listen. If I don't like what you have to say, you leave and don't bother us again. Understood?"

"Crystal clear, as always, Swan." He gave her a brazen smile and stepped past her.

Emma just lifted an eyebrow and closed the door behind him. She followed him down the hall. When Henry came into view, he gave her a confused look from the couch.

"_Snow White?" _Hook gave them each a raised eyebrow. "I know you cannot understand how ironic this is."

"Whatever. You just better start talking before I change my mind." Emma sat down next to her son.

He stared silently at them. Emma was just about to say something when he finally asked, "Have you ever wondered what happens at the end of these fairy tales?"

"Sure, happily ever after." Henry answered.

"Are you sure, young man? I think you should let me show you what really happens after the _Happily Ever After_ and the credits."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I need you to. There are many people who need you to," he paused for a moment, and Emma could nearly see that a light bulb had just been turned on, "Use your superpower, Swan. That's right, I know of your ability to see lies. So, come on, use it on me. I promise I am here because your family needs you, and I mean no harm to you or the boy." Hook smiled triumphantly. He had her, well, _hooked._

Emma knew she shouldn't trust him. No way in hell should she trust this guy, especially when she had Henry's safety to think about! But, this man seemed to know so much about her. Even things that she never admitted to out loud; the tequila, cinnamon on hers and Henry's hot chocolates, and then he used the name 'Regina'. Not even Henry knew of those dreams! Emma looked at the man standing before her. She saw something in this not-so-stranger's eyes told her that it would be ok to trust him; he was telling her his truth.

"Fine."


	4. welcome Aboard

Chapter three

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

"A pirate ship? Why am I not surprised!" Emma stared up at the ship from the end of the pier. To give the pirate credit, Emma had to admit that it was an impressive ship. She had never gone sailing before, but from what she had seen from movies and online, it was magnificent. Two masses climbed high bearing a multitude of thick, heavy canvas sails. Everywhere her gaze fell, ropes hung, pulling, holding, doing whatever it was ropes did on a ship, Emma supposed. From where they stood at the end of the pier, Emma could tell that the ship was made of dark, well-polished wood. There was something written at the rear, but it was too far away for Emma eyes to make out.

"Well, I had to have it to go with my costume. Didn't I, Swan?" he smirked and lifted his eyebrow, which Emma was now beginning to realize must be his signature _look_, " Anyways, we'll have to go on a little trip to get where we're going." The pirate gave Henry a hand down into the small rowboat that would take them out to the pirate ship.

Emma rolled her eyes and stepped up so he could give her a hand down as well.

Once situated in the small wooden boat, Hook took command of the oars. "You never said where we were going," Henry observed.

"It's a place called the Enchanted Forest, young lad." Hook brought the oars back and forth and they gradually progressed nearer to the ship

"Well, if I knew we were going that far, I would have brought a bigger bag," Emma quipped sarcastically.

Hook smirked at her comment, but said nothing. _That's a first,_ Emma thought. Though she hadn't known the man for long, she assumed this was a man who always had two bits to say.

In less time than expected, the trio were near enough to the ship for Emma to read the name. _Jolly Roger. _Emma vaguely recalled that that was indeed the name of Captain Hook's ship in all the renditions of _Peter Pan_ that she has seen.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts. Once they reached the ship, Hook pointed out the rope ladder that would take them up to the deck while he tied the rowboat to a series of ropes and pulleys.

Emma took hold of the ladder and began pulling herself up before Henry. If a traitorous band of murderous thieves awaited them up top, she would be the first they would get, and not her son. Climbing up, Emma missed a foothold and would have fallen if a rather hairy hand had not quickly reached out and grab hold of hers.

"Hey, sister," said a gravelly voice. The bearded, scruffy face of a man came into view above her.

"Hi," she replied automatically scrambling up on to the deck.

"How's the family life been?" Scruffy asked.

Emma looked at him, confusion written plainly on her pretty face.

"She doesn't remember you, mate. I told you." Hook stepped on deck just behind Henry.

"Yeah, you said that," he admitted grumpily.

"Emma, Henry, this charming man here is Grumpy," Hook said placing his hand on Grumpy's-_ironic_, Emma thought- shoulder. She noticed that the pirate was nearly a full foot taller than Grumpy.

"Let me guess; she don't know who she is either." Grumpy said, well, _grumpily. _

"It seems the Queen's spell did its job."

"What good is a Saviour who doesn't know she's a Saviour?" Grumpy muttered as he stepped away.

Emma looked around the ship; there were about seven other men on board. Seems Captain Hook or Killian or whoever the hell he was had a crew. "So, uh, are these people as crazy as you, Killian?"

He gave her his _look_. "No, Swan. I like the think I'm special," His voice dropped and his features became more serious, "But they are all here because they know you can help us."

"Set sail! Hoist the anchor, all hands!" Hook barked out orders to the men like he was born to be captain.

The men on board were quick to obey those orders and soon the ship was sailing due south. Emma and Henry stood aside, careful to keep out of the way of the busy crew. Henry was quick to point out that, like she had noticed with Grumpy, all the men were just as tall as he was. Emma agreed; all the men- besides Killian- were shorter than her! Emma had just come to her conclusion when from around the sail mast, Emma caught sight of a regular sized guy. She kept her eyes on him; he was fairly good looking. Well, from what she could see. He was busy with ropes and kept his head down. She studied him for a little while longer. He had strong arms, a good build, but… he seemed familiar. She was about to ask Henry if perhaps he knew him, or at least could assure her that they had seen him before, when Hook called out, "Bae! Secure that starboard line!"

The man's head whipped up and around and his eyes quickly located the line and he jumped to have it secured. Emma finally captured the sight of the man's face and nearly threw up at the flood of emotions that invaded her. Out of the entire swirling storm in her chest, she was able to grab a hold of one emotion through the tempest; anger.

"YOU BASTARD! You son of a bitch, Neal!" Emma screamed at Neal from where she was standing, but not for long. Emma strode over to Neal, who had looked up at the sound of Emma's voice and his name.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Henry yelled at his mother's back.

"Emma!" Neal's face broke out into an enormous grin. "Emma, oh God, I missed you!" his grin morphed into a frown when he realized Emma wasn't glad to see him in the least. In fact, she was pissed! "Whoa, Emma, calm down. It's me, Baelfire-Neal!"

"I know who you are, asshole!" Emma came to an abrupt halt just in front of him. Her eyes bore into his, as if she was trying to burn him with laser vision. Neal visibly gulped and looked to Hook and Henry for help. Henry was staring at him just as intensely as Emma, only his was an expression of astonishment and a hint of confusion. Hook seemed amused.

"Kiss her, mate. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did." Hook hollered from the wheel.

Without bothering to reconsider, Neal obeyed Hook's suggestion and brought his mouth to connect firmly against Emma's. He pulled away and immediately got a well-manicured fist to his nose. "OW! Jesus, Emma!"

"Ouu, bad luck, mate." Hook chuckled in satisfaction. "You better not get any blood on my ship!"

"Hey, shut up, man! She punches hard!"

"What the hell was that?" Emma whipped her mouth with the back of her hand and took a step back from Neal shaking her hand.

Still holding the bridge of his nose and trying to keep blood from falling from his nose to the well-maintained deck, Neal looked at Emma. "Sorry, he told me to do it; I didn't stop to think of how weird it would be for you."

"Yeah, no shit."

"Again, sorry. But I had to see if it would work. It would save a bunch of problems."

"For who? You, Jack Sparrow and the midget brigade?!" Emma's shock was quickly dissipating and her anger resurfaced.

"Who are you calling midgets, sister? We're dwarfs." Grumpy stepped up from behind her.

"They really don't like being called midgets," said Neal.

"Shut up!" Emma's fist rose again, but Grumpy was quick to step between them.

"Emma, don't kill him just yet. We may need his sorry ass later," Hook called over.

Emma lowered her fist and her voice, "Stay away from me and my son."

"Emma, he's my son, too! Do you really not remember?"

"I remember you left!"

"Come on, sister. You'll have time for him later." Grumpy took hold of her arm and gently pulled her away. "In the meantime, these are a few guys you and Henry need to meet and eventually, remember. This is Doc." He pointed to one of the short guys-sorry, _dwarfs-_ with glasses, a white beard and a red shirt. "Sneezy," the one with stubble and a red tipped nose raised his hand and smiled before he doubled over in a huge sneeze that seemed to come right from his toes. "Sleepy, Bashful, Happy and Dopey." In turn, he pointed out a dwarf with bags under his eyes, one with pink cheeks who smiled shyly and looked away, one with a round belly and huge smile, and the last with absolutely no facial hair, large ears and the biggest blue eyes Emma had ever seen. "Obviously, they're the rest of the seven dwarfs. You don't remember them."

"It's really good to see you and Henry again!" Happy nearly yelled with cheerful enthusiasm.

"I'm positive the King and Queen will do absolutely everything in their power to restore your memories," said Doc.

"Wait, King and Queen? Who are they?" Henry asked.

"Why, they're their Majesties King Charming and Queen Snow; your grandparents, son. Emma, they're your parents," Doc answered.

"Mom, you're a princess?" Henry looked up at his mother with excitement brewing in his eyes. Of course, if she were a princess, that would make him a prince.

"Sorry, Henry. I'm no princess."

From where he was still steering the ship, all Hook said was, "You'll see, Swan. You'll see."


	5. Welcome Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

**Notes from the author: OMG this is my first fanfiction and I am absolutely thrilled with the reviews I've received! I cannot believe how well this is going! Please continue reading and I promise to do my best to please my readers 3 **

Chapter four

"Emma, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's just… you have to understand-"

"Save it, Neal. I can't do this right down." Emma didn't even look up from the water. She had been standing at the banister watching the waves and trying to understand everything that had happened within the last 24 hours since Grumpy had finished introductions- that had been at least two hours ago. _Trying _was definitely a key word in that sentence.

Neal leaned his back against the banister beside the blonde. "I missed you both." He sounded sincere. And sad, incredibly sad.

_Good, _Emma thought, _serves him right._ "Mhmm." Was all Emma managed to reply.

"Umm, a woman- Regina, she was Henry's adoptive mother. She gave me this book to give to Henry. It's his." Neal held up an old looking leather-bound book with the words _Once Upon A Time _written in cool writing across the cover.

"A book of fairy tales?" Emma made her voice sound uncaring, but really, inside she was dying to know what was so special about this book. _This Regina gave this to Neal for Henry. Regina…_

"You'd be surprised how truthful a book of fairy tales can be," Neal replied with a small chuckle, "We all added to it, to try and catch you guys up on what you missed and don't remember." He handed the book to her.

Emma held it carefully. She passed her hand over its worn cover and spine. Her fingers trailed lightly over the golden lettering before she passed it back to him. "You give it to him. He's over there with, umm…" she wracked her brain to try to remember to young-looking dwarf's name. "Dopey!"

"You're letting me give it to him?" he looked at her, a mix of joy and lingering sadness swirling in his brown eyes- the eyes she had fallen in love with over 13 years ago.

"Well, you are his father."

"I'll make it up to you, Emma," he said gleefully.

"Just go before I change my mind," she said and Neal quickly and elatedly retreated over to Henry and Dopey.

****SWANQUEEN****

"All hands on deck!" Emma and Henry jumped in their tiny bunk room when they heard Hook's voice from above them. Given that Emma was the only woman on board and she had her son, the men had opted to give her the sole room aboard the ship- besides the Captain's chambers. Hook had _graciously_ offered her his room (as well as his services), but she had somewhat-politely refused.

It had been just over a day since they had set foot on the_ Jolly Roger. _Hook had explained to them that they needed to make it to specific coordinates before their real journey back to the place they all called The Enchanted Forest.

For most of that time, Emma and Henry had been studying the book of fairy tales Neal had past to Henry. The boy found every detail absolutely fascinating! Emma had to admit, the stories were pretty cool, but the notes each 'character' had made about them was what truly drew her attention. They had read the entire book several times over together and had matched up notes to their character and made small character charts. Emma still wasn't quite certain she believed everything the book claimed to be true, though Henry believed in it like it was his bible. _How could it be possible?_ That single question stood out to her in her mind. Everyone had explained that The-Evil-Queen-turn-Okay-Queen-Regina was responsible for their memory loss, as well as the 'curse' that had started everything in the first place- Emma had quickly found the stories and notes pertaining to Regina to quickly verify if this was true- but the foreign concept of magic existing still left her perplexed, suspicious and with a big headache.

"I said all hands, Swan gang!" Emma and Henry shared a glance and exited their room, quickly clambering up the ladder to the main deck. In sudden bright daylight, both mother and son squinted and tried to locate the captain.

"Up here, lady and gentleman," Hook called from his usual place behind the massive wooden wheel. He motioned – with _**his one hand**_!- for them to join him up on the sterncastle deck, where he stood.

"Where are we?" Henry asked.

"What a very good question, my lad. We are some nautical miles off the coast of Miami, nearing what you know to be the Bermuda Triangle."

"Bermuda Triangle?!" Henry exclaimed, "But don't a bunch of ships and planes and stuff go missing around here?" His voice dropped to a worried whisper.

"Aye, ships and planes and _stuff _that enter the Bermuda Triangle often go missing and are never again seen in this world," Hook regaled.

"So why are entering a place where we will probably crash and die?!" Henry now sounded more than worried. He sounded scared.

"Fear not, Henry. I said that vessels that pass through here are often never again seen in _this _world." Hook tried to comfort the boy, "I never said they _died_."

"Then what happens?"

"Don't tell me; there's a portal at the center of the Triangle and the vessels that pass through end up in another _dimension,_" Emma said sarcastically.

Hook turned his eyes to Emma and she saw a strange looking twinkle in their dark depths. "Now you're getting it, Swan. That is exactly what happens."

"WOW! Another dimension? Really! Awesome!" fright momentarily forgotten, Henry rushed to the side of the ship so he wouldn't miss a single second.

Emma stayed put, and brought a hand to her throbbing temple.

"This is where your doubts will vanish, Swan." Hook turned his attention back to navigating the ship. "We will be entering the Triangle within moments and from then the trip to the center will take about two hours, depending on how well we navigate the storm."

"Storm?" Emma looked out at the blue sky and crystal water.

"You'll notice the change once we cross into the Triangle and it will only get worse the closer we get to the center."

"If you say so." Emma looked over the banister at the eight men working quickly to prepare the ship for the 'storm'. Out of the mass of ropes and men, Emma easily found Neal. He was working faster and more efficiently than the dwarfs. And he was a full head taller than them. That helped a bit. She gazed out over everything and nothing; seeing as far as the eye could see, but nothing registered. Lost in thoughts of the book her and Henry had been reading, Emma was pulled from her daydreaming by the steady increase of waves. She looked up and saw that the once beautiful green-blue waters had turned choppy and gray. The sun hid behind clouds and she shivered. _Guess I should trust the pirate on the sea, _she admitted.

"Swan, you and Henry should get below deck. We are quickly approaching the storm and you two will only get in the way."

She and Henry both descended the ladder to the main deck after a heated argument about being able to help and staying out of the way and not being a kid from the boy. Emma took one last look at the horizon. The sky had turned an even more menacing gray in the past few minutes and the waves rose and crashed with a sound like thunder and the ferocity of a hurricane. _Are we headed in to a hurricane?_ It was possible, but Emma quickly pushed those thoughts away to not psych herself out further. Fear of drowning in a possible upcoming storm would definitely not help resolve her confused state.

They stepped down the last steep set of stairs and toppled down the narrow hallway, getting tossed about like a salad by the rocking waves of the ocean. Finally making it to the door of their small room, boy and mother were thrown inside by a tremendously strong rock of the ship.

They sat together on Emma's bottom bunk, both concentrating on the constant motion of to and fro and the distant shouts of the men.

"Wanna look at the book some more, mom?" Henry looked sideways at his mother.

"Sure, kid. Pull it out." She sat with her back to the wall, knees pulled tight to her chest. Her son stood and took the rather large leather book from under his pillow on the top bunk. "Under your pillow? Aren't you a little old for that, kid." Mother teased son with a huge grin across her pale lips.

"It's just were I put it." The boy countered without meeting older green eyes.

Emma's grin changed to a smaller smile of understanding, "Alright. What story were we at?"

"Well, we just read about how Rumpelstiltskin is really the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and Belle believes she can fix him with True Love's Kiss." He quickly flipped through the thick pages, expertly finding where they left off as if he knew the entire contents of the book by heart.

"Perfect. What happens next?" Emma scooted over so the boy could bring his legs up in a near mirror position of the blond.

"It kind of works. He starts to change back, but he pushes her away because he thinks he isn't worth loving and he deserves to look like the monster he is and doesn't want to lose his power because he needs it to find his son; Baelfire. Umm, that's uh..." Henry stumbled to find what to call his newly found (or re-found) father.

"Your dad. There's no need to tiptoe around it and there's no avoiding it; he is your dad." Emma offered him.

A small rush of joy at finally having a father filled Henry's eyes and heart and Emma's own heart broke slightly at seeing how painful and difficult it must have been for him to live without a father- figure even. She knew she had done her best, but nothing could replace a male role model.

Emma punched her son's knee affectionately and urged him to continue reading to her. They sat like that reading until they reached the end of the book, devoured the personal notes and the waves just became too rough to further reading without becoming sick.

They both had been entirely captivated by the notes made by Queen Regina. Emma could tell where the woman had chosen to not go into depth with her explanations. Most specifically, ones concerning how her adopted son had turned from her once he discovered the truth of every citizen of Storybrooke. Present day Henry could barely force himself to push through the words; he could feel her raw heartbreak behind them. Emma worshiped each letter written in the elegant handwriting. This woman surely was something. Emma admired and felt somewhat guilty while they read about the many arguments she and the 'Mayor' had had. She held herself higher when she heard of the many times she saved the woman, and smiled brightly at the parts where Regina had in turn saved her and many more people, in Maine and Neverland alike. Emma deeply admired and nearly fell into tears as she read of the effort and struggle Regina suffered to be good for their son. _I may not remember much more than her eyes, but I can tell she really did try for Henry._

Henry was also deeply interested with the stories written by King Charming and Queen Snow; his grandparents. The boy was a hopeless romantic, adoring how the couple truly believed that True Love could cure anything. He believed it whole heartedly with them! He was filled to the brim with excitement to meet this famous fairy tale couple.

The two were in a heated discussion about whether or not this would make a hit TV show when a light tapping sounded on the other side of the door. It pushed open and a dwarf stood on the other side.

"Hey..." Emma searched for the name of this one and was just about to ask when he suddenly doubled over with a sneeze that should have come from a giant and not a man the size of her thirteen year old, "Sneezy. What's up?"

"Your Highnesses, we have arrived." With a small bow of his head, he exited the threshold and returned to the others.

Emma and Henry looked at each other and bolted for the door, crashing together and barely fitting through the door frame in their haste.

They barrelled up each step and came out to wet wood and sopping men, all staring out at the horizon. They moved over to join the crew and were instantly struck into a deafening silent awe. The water shimmered with a brilliance Emma had only seen in photo-shopped pictures, and even those couldn't compare to this beauty. Farther out, she could see a sea of green trees that were taller, fuller and more numerous than any forest she had ever seen in her life. And there, sitting on its own island overlooking the shimmering, crystal-like water and thick forest of trees was a golden castle that seemed to glow, as if the sun's ray had been trapped and were shining out from just inside the white-gold brick walls.

The entire scene belonged more in a book, though Emma had hardly been able to imagine a place so wonderful, let alone see a picture or painting that could compare.

Mouth open and eyes still wide and staring, Emma heard Hook's voice welcoming her home in the background.


	6. Lost, Found, Refound

Chapter five

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

**Notes from me: happy reading! xo- whatisarose100**

The throne room glistened in the bright light of the afternoon sun. The white marble and thin rivers of gold and silver reflected each ray and sent it out doubled, an effect Snow much enjoyed in the light of the moon; the hall caught the soft moon and starlight and magnified it so the magnificence of the large hall was never lost in shadows of the night.

The entire castle had been rebuilt to its exact former glory. It had only taken a few weeks, what with Regina and the fairies working with magic, to quickly re-establish everyone in their original home pre-curse. It still shocked Snow that the dark Queen hadn't quickly jumped back into her old role as Evil Queen. Charming had stared in outright shock when he had been informed that their old enemy was working _with _the fairies to rebuild the castles and villages. It had taken no small amount of self-control on Regina's part, they were certain. The only requests the Queen had was that she not see the Blue Fairy while she was at work- the latter agreed without any dispute-, that she be allowed to live in her own palace and reign as queen of her own land without intervention from the White Kingdom, and finally, that she be immediately informed when any information regarding the search for Emma and Henry surfaced.

Seeing Regina's concern and interest in the wellbeing of the villagers as well as Henry _and_ Emma, Charming in turn surprised Snow (not to mention Regina) with offering the woman a seat on their council. Furthering the shock, Regina accepted the seat. Snow saw the advantage in having the intelligent royal as an ally as well as a member of the council, but she could not understand her husband's sudden trust in her. Charming had assured his wife that his decision had been well thought-out, and there would be extra precautions to Regina's presence in their castle.

It has now been a year since their return to their native realm. Six months of that had been quite comfortable; simple rebuilding and distribution of lands kept Snow's mind off her daughter and grandson.

Then the sickness had started; slowly at first, but increasing steadily. Fields have all but frozen over in the west and everywhere the sickness hit, poppies and a green-tinged mist followed shortly after, plunging all those unlucky enough to get caught in it to their sudden death. The western-most village, Argenthen, had been lost completely. It had been the first one attacked and no one from that village has been heard from in the last five months. They had ordered evacuations of every village within ten miles of Argenthen in an attempt to spare as many lives as possible. So far, staying ahead of the sickness worked. But what would they do when the sickness traveled farther to the east and spread to the North and South? They could not all crowd into the eastern-most villages, the people from the west already crowded the villagers here.

Three months ago, in the middle of a heated council meeting, Regina gave her first true idea; they had to bring Emma back. Of course, she immediately had Charming's support and approval. He quickly assembled a crew and sent them off to find a way back to the realm where Emma and Henry were trapped.

Since their departure, scant new information regarding the Sickness has been revealed. In truth, the only new piece of information was a name and vague face to go along with this attack; Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West from the Land of Oz. Very little was known about this witch and they were unable to make contact with any would-be ally from that realm from whom they could get information.

Regina and the fairies, having done a sufficient amount of rebuilding, had moved their magical skills to finding a cure for the Sickness. Regina insisted that she be permitted (though she still would have done as she pleased with or without the council's approval) to search for a different cure; one to break the memory spell she had placed on Emma and her son.

Feeling foolish at having forgotten, Snow and Charming agreed that would be best.

Now, Snow paced the length of the raised platform that held her and Charming's thrones. While hers was currently unoccupied, the king sat slumped low in his chair, disregarding all codes of throne etiquette that Snow prised.

One of their scouts had just informed them that another village, as well as a small western forest, had been claimed by the frost, mist and poppies. Once he had left, Snow began her pacing. The royal couple hadn't said a word. On her 56th pass by the thrones, the doors were thrown wide and another soldier entered without warning or announcement.

Charming jumped and quickly sat himself properly in his throne while Snow stood still and watched the young man in armour run to the foot of the platform. He bowed deeply and addressed them appropriately, apologizing for his rude entry.

"Your Majesties, there is news," he said.

"News? Of what?" Charming looked down at the young man expectantly.

"Sir, the ship, it has returned." Silence followed his words. The soldier was just about to repeat himself when with a joyous cry; the king threw himself from his seat and lifted his wife, who was also laughing with joy.

"They're back! They found them!" they kept yelling.

Charming bent and feverously began kissing his wife, both so completely over-joyed with the return of the crew and the rest of their family. The guard cleared his throat and the two instantly jumped apart. With red cheeks, Snow rushed to the open window and called out into the day, "Tinkerbell!"

The green fairy appeared moments after and before her feet even touched the marble floor, Snow was giving her word, "Go to Queen Regina's kingdom. Tell her the ship is back!"

Without a second look or word, Tink flew out the window with a huge grin in place.

Snow turned back to her husband, tears running down her porcelain cheeks. She saw evidence of her Charming's joy in his own unshed tears. "Let's go see our girl." Taking his hand firmly in hers, the King and Queen quickly followed the guard out the castle and down to the royal docks.


	7. Caramel Eyes

Chapter six

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

**Notes from me: Sorry for the wait, guys! Hope you all enjoy the chapter **

Emma's mouth was still hanging slightly open when they arrived at the port to dock the ship. Henry had long since begun to vibrate with anticipation and glee, like he was a young boy of six again.

Neal had gladly taken Henry up to the crow's nest so his son could have a first class seat from which to watch them approach land.

Once the sails were tied up and the ship secured tightly with thick ropes to the dock, the men lowered the plank and stood by to let Emma and Henry be the first to disembark.

Immediately, they both looked up at the ginormous castle towering above them. It sat on top on a high hill that was an island. It connected to the rest of the land by a large stone bridge of such strength and beautiful craftsmanship that would definitely make the Brooklyn Bridge envious.

Emma scanned the aria with hungry eyes. _Holy shit, maybe these guys aren't so crazy._ Thoughts such as that flooded her mind until her gaze landed on several figures hurrying down the dock towards them.

Leading the pack, was a woman with a mass of raven black curls piled high on her head, wearing a gorgeous lavender gown with rich beads of a matching color sown to the bodice. Her pale face and red lips reminded Emma of a porcelain doll. The man beside her made the woman look even more petite, thanks to his height and strong build. He wore leather boots and vest with riding cloths beneath. Emma quickly noticed he had a sword hanging closely to his side, as did all the men in armour following them.

Emma instinctively and immediately stepped closer to her son and put her arm around his shoulders as if to protect him from their still sheathed blades.

Closer now, Emma saw tears of what seemed to be joy streaming down the couple's faces. She only had time for momentary confusion before they enveloped her and Henry between them in a huge group hug.

"Oh, Emma, Henry! We're so glad to have to back," the woman sobbed close to Emma's ear.

"We knew we would be able to find you," said the man in Emma's other ear.

Emma and Henry were unmoving statues, frozen in place by astonishment and confusion.

They all jumped at the sound of a throat being cleared behind them. "Sorry, mate, but it seems to me like my crew and I were the ones who found her," said Hook from aboard the ship. "And just a small reminder; their memories are still wacked, so you're both probably freaking them out a bit. As well as cutting off air circulation." He smirked and descended the wooden ramp.

At his words, the dark haired woman peeled herself away from Emma and Henry, but stood very close to them. She smiled and said, "Sorry, we did momentarily forget. Emma, we are your parents." She smiled brightly again and Emma regarded her closely. She did have the same eyes as her, as well as her round face. Maybe the same chin. Emma's gaze shifted to her 'father'. She must have gotten her stronger build from him, and his lighter hair. Emma saw much of Henry in him, though. She imagined these two would look very similar were they the same age.

"That means we're your grandparents, Henry." Her 'father' looked down at her son with a huge grin that held so much love and joy, Emma had to believe that these two people were telling her the truth they truly believed in.

"Yeah, we know. We read a book that explained everything on our way here!" Henry stared up at them in complete adoration, "Don't you remember, mom? This is Queen Snow White and King Charming. Your parents and my grandparents!" he threw his arms around the two of them, "Like I said, Mom; that means you're a princess!" he looked up at his grandparents. "And that mean I'm a prince, right?"

"Indeed it does, your Highness." Charming bowed deeply with his huge grin still in place and his wife followed suit.

Emma couldn't help the small smiled that spread across her lips at the sight. Henry was positively glowing with joy! It had been a while since she had seen him this happy, so Emma cherished the small minute, until she realized what they were saying.

"Wait, whoa there, kid. Like _I _said; I'm no princess."

"Oh, that's right! Mom always wanted to be a knight when we played Once Upon A Time," Henry explained.

Her parents looked from Henry to her, "You played Once Upon A Time?" her mother asked.

Emma fidgeted slightly under their stare. "Well, uh… when he was little, he really liked fairy tales, so we played… a lot, and I liked them, too, a bit…" Emma stumbled over each word until a somewhat understandable response formed.

Both the King and Queen wore faces of utter bliss! Perhaps their daughter remembered some of her past! They were about to pull them into another suffocating group hug when, just to the side, a cloud of purple smoke materialized and a woman clothed in dark blue stepped forth.

Emma recognized her immediately. She found the woman's eyes. The dark and rich caramel colour confirmed her speculation. They were the exact color of the eyes that haunted her dreams. And the purple smoke! It was too much to be a coincidence. Now, thanks to Henry's book, she had a definite name- more than just a feeling- to go with the eyes and the dream.

_Regina. _Her lips formed the name, testing it, before she dared let sound pass those pale wardens.

The woman stepped farther from the dissipating column of smoke. She wore an extremely form fitting dark blue velvet dress. The bodice was all glittering blue glass and gems. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a thick braid that looped once around her head like a crown. Her dark eyes were rimmed heavily in makeup, however it didn't look bad. Her full lips were painted a deep, juicy red that looked so excruciatingly inviting. Emma noticed she had a small scarre on one side of her upper lip that seemed to add to the mystery, allure and beauty created by all of her features. Though she wore no sign of royalty, one could not mistake her for someone less than a queen. Her pride, power, grace, and stature were clear in the way she carried herself.

Caramel eyes found hers and Emma realized she had been staring too intently for far too long. She hastily looked away, a pink glow rising to her cheeks. Just before she had averted her gaze, however, she had seen those dark eyes widen ever so slightly and begin to sparkle.

Queen Regina smiled brightly as she took in the sight of her son and the Savior, returned to where they both should have been brought up. It felt so incredibly good to see Henry again! He had grown a fair bit since she had last seen him. _He looks so much older, _Regina thought forlornly. She missed an entire year of his life! She hadn't even been able to look through her mirror across realms to check up on them_. That_ had been very difficult for her to bear.

Henry regarded the woman standing before him with awe. He visibly shook himself out of his stupor and looked around at all the other faces surrounding him, looking to see if anyone else found it strange that this magnificent woman appeared out of a puff of smoke. "How..?" he began incredulously.

Regina smiled sweetly at her son's confusion. Of course, she had promised him she would try to stop using magic. Given the circumstances which arose, she believed that promise to be no longer binding. "Didn't you read the book, Henry? There's magic here." She smiled again. All anyone could see was an immense joy radiating off of her for what anyone would believe to be having her son back. Granted, that was a big part of it, but Regina kept her equal joy to Emma's return hidden deeper.

"Uh, oh yeah. Magic. Right. Man this is going to take some getting used to," said Henry in a rush.

"You got that right, kid," Emma agreed with him. Her eyes had floated back to the newly arrived Queen, but in a more subtle curiosity than outright staring, this time.

They stood silently for a few moments. Charming suggested they all go up to the castle and he put his arms around Emma and Henry's shoulders to steer them in the direction. Snow stepped closer to Regina and quietly spoke in her ear, "You've been looking for a way to lift this spell from them. Have you had any luck?"

The dark Queen closed her eyes and replied, "Taking off a memory spell is much more difficult than casting it. I have found nothing, so far. I am doing my best."

"I believe you ."


	8. Friends

Chapter seven

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

The queens walked silently behind Charming and the two other members of their family. Henry had been firing question upon question, and to give the King credit, he was doing a very good job at answering all of the boy's inquiries.

Henry suddenly paused in his rambling and looked up at his grandfather. "Wait, are we going to live here?" his eyes were as big as saucers.

Charming looked from his grandson's eyes to his daughter's, questioningly. "Well, for now, anyways," Emma answered her son for her father.

Henry lit up like a roman candle. He was going to stay in a real castle! Not many twelve-year-old boys could say that. He entertained himself quietly for a moment with thoughts of wandering around the grounds and halls, finding all the hidden passages and hideaways that only an adventurous-as well as nosy- kid like him could find.

In Henry's silence, Emma was finally able to hear her own thoughts again. In her thoughts, she found she had a question, too, "So why did you guys send a pirate and the mini-men bunch to come and get us? Hook said you guys were in trouble; that something happened."

"Dwarfs," Charming corrected automatically. He'd been around them and his wife enough to know that anything other than the proper name really aggravated them.

Emma's green eyes looked at her father in time to see him pale slightly once the question really registered. "Well, Emma, we are in trouble. We need you; you're the Savior."

"Yeah, I heard that. What the hell does it mean?" she was now getting impatient. She didn't get a straight answer from any of the men on the ship and now her 'dad' just gave her the same shitty answer she'd gotten from the others.

"It means… well, uh…" Charming looked back at his wife for help. Snow opened and shut her mouth a few times, unsure what to say and how to say it.

"Oh for shits sake, I'll explain it to her for you two idiots," Regina spoke exasperatedly rolling her eyes at the couple.

Snow, slightly insulted, nodded to herself and walked arm in arm with her husband- who was more than a little insulted- up to where Henry had stopped to wait for them.

Regina and Emma watched them walk away with their son.

"Welcome back, Emma."

The blonde looked back to the brunette, meeting her caramel gaze and taking in her sincere smile. "Thank, I guess." Emma looked away, suddenly slightly nervous to be alone and engaged in a conversation with this woman to whom she felt a connection; through a dream. "Sooooo… you're Regina."

"Indeed I am." Regina smiled kindly again and they began walking slowly behind the three in front of them. "It seems you're catching on to who's who okay enough."

"Well, thanks to Henry's book. Thank you for that, by the way. It's really helping."

"I'm glad."

Emma ran a hand through her long blonde locks; a nervous habit. She blew out a deep breath she hadn't realize she had been really holding and in a rush, exclaimed, "This is so insane! It's completely impossible that there is another _realm_ or world or whatever where a bunch of fairy tale characters are living!"

To Emma's surprise and annoyance, the brunette simply laughed at her honest outburst. No matter who this woman was, Emma prepared herself to be furious and defend and call out the woman on her rudeness when Regina composed herself, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I was imagining your reaction the first time you learned the truth. Though I wasn't there in person, I could easily imagine your initial retort being quite similar." Her eyes sparkled with humour and Emma thought that they- she- was absolutely stunning. Even while the Queen had been laughing at Emma, she had thought the royal looked even more beautiful when she was amused.

"Do you really think you can fix our memories?"

Regina's mood instantly sobered up, becoming immediately serious. Emma almost regretted being the cause of the humour evaporating from those dark eyes. Before she could apologize for dimming the mood, Emma realized that it had been _her_ who had made the Queen laugh in the first place. _Well, _Emma thought,_ I'll just make her laugh again once we get this inevitable talk out of the way._

"I promise you, Emma, I will do and try everything within my power to bring back your and Henry's memories."

Emma nodded. "So, back to my original question; why did you guys come get Henry and me?"

Regina sighed and passed slender fingers across her brow. "Though your father is dim, he was right. You _are _the Savior, Emma. You're the product of True Love. You broke many curses; mine, I might add, so they were not simple easy charms that could be easily broken. You slayed a dragon, you saved Henry, myself, your parents, and everyone else in the town! If anyone can help us, it's you." Regina had stopped walking and was staring intently into Emma's eyes. Obviously, there was so much more she could tell Emma, but the Queen decided things would be best not to mention Emma's magic just yet. They will take this one step at a time.

Emma stared right back into Regina's eyes, completely and totally captivated by the dark caramel orbs. She felt Regina's hand come up to rest lightly on her arm as she spoke in a most serious tone. "I really did all that?"

"Yes." To Emma's ears, Regina sounded slightly breathless. Just as quickly as the serious, heavy mood had come on, Regina exhaled and smiled, lighting it up instantaneously.

Emma's mind reeled to keep up with the sudden changes in mood. She mentally shook herself and asked, "So what's the problem now?"

"Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West-" Regina began.

"Wait, you mean the witch from Oz?" Emma's eyes widened.

"Yes," said Regina, slightly confused.

"So, Oz is real? It really exists?"

Regina laughed again, and if Emma hadn't been so flummoxed, she would have enjoyed the sound and appearance of Regina's joy. "Of course it's real! It's as real as this realm, the Enchanted Forest. So is Wonderland, Neverland, Narnia, Middle Earth and most other 'fictional'," she air quoted the word with her hands, "places that one would read about in books. Anyways, the Witch has been making poppies grow- coming from our western boarders and traveling more and more towards the East and spreading out. The poppies come with a mist that is causing the crops to freeze and those who are unlucky enough to be trapped in the mist or take a small whiff of the flowers perfume die. We believe the only way to fix this is to either kill the Witch or reverse the spell. The fairies and I have been working on a reversal spell, in the least something to slow it or stop it, but so far, all our attempts have been unsuccessful."

Emma listened attentively to Regina's explanation. She had been momentarily overjoyed to hear that all of her favourite fairy tales had actual realms and existed somewhere, but that joy was quickly diffused by the severity of the situation at hand. This was terrible; all of these people were in serious trouble if someone didn't help them! And they expected that someone to be her…

"What am I supposed to do?!" Emma nearly shouted, "How am I supposed to beat a Wicked Witch?"

Regina's fingers passed over her brow once more and she sighed, "Emma, I honestly don't know. But I do know that everyone will be more hopeful now that you're here. Since the people heard of the men that set off to find you, their hope has begun to rebuild itself."

Emma was silent for a moment, then asked, "Has my being here helped rebuild your hope?" she held her breath for the response. She could not describe how incredibly curious she was, nor could she explain the desire she had to give this woman hope and joy.

Brown eyes met green and ruby coloured lips softly spoke a single syllable that made all the difference and made this trip completely worth it to Emma, "Yes."

Emma smiled. "I hope I can help."

"You already have."

"What were we before?" Emma blurted abruptly. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She quickly looked down, away, anywhere but at the woman walking beside her. For some reason, she felt incredibly foolish for asking.

Regina's eyebrows shot sky high in surprise. She had not expected that question. "What do you mean?" she asked inquisitively.

Emma fidgeted again and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I mean, what was our relationship to one another before?"

Regina pondered this. _What were they? What had they become?_ She asked internally. Of course they weren't still enemies; they had been through far too much to still despise each other so and have worked well together. _And, _Regina mentally added,_ I definitely don't hate Emma anymore. Actually, I kind of like her now. _She momentarily considered the title of co-mothers to Henry or acquaintances. Those were quickly dismissed. Again, they had been through too much together to stay on such meek terms. Regina thought of the last few moments she had spent with the blonde and their son. She had been devastated over losing Henry, and quite upset over never seeing Emma again. With that simple truth- that she had been sad to let go of the blonde- Regina decided.

With a smile, she simply said, "We were friends."


	9. The Savior

Chapter eight

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

**Notes from me: here is another chapter, guys! And don't worry about the 'friends' bit at the end of the last chapter. I did say this was a SQ fanfic, did I not? Remember: patience is a virtue. Happy reading!**

Emma glanced around the dimly lit room. Contrary to the rest of the castle, this room was dark, lit only by candelabras and chandeliers and the minimal sunlight that filtered through the sole heavily draped window. The room was also made of darker stone, not the white-golden marble that made up the rest of the fantastic structure. Each wall was adorned with its own unique tapestry, presenting various landscapes and the famous True Love Kiss of the King and Queen. This was absolutely without a doubt the most magnificent room she had ever seen, let alone been in.

Emma eyes roamed around the round- yes, round!- table where she sat between her parents with several other people. The dwarfs she met earlier were present, all siting to her mother's side. After them, was an older woman that literally scared Emma shitless. Seriously, the woman carried a crossbow on her back and wore a 'you-better-not-piss-me-off-or-I'll-come-and-kill-you-dead' face. To top it all off, this woman introduced herself as Granny._ Come on, tell me that's not a serious psychopathic serial-killer name, _Emma thought.

Behind the scary-ass-grandma, stood a tall, leggy brunette. To say the least, she was extremely beautiful. This was Red- or Ruby- Granny's grand-daughter. Emma thought that if this girl was related to Granny, she must be able to kick some serious ass.

Beside them were two knight-looking men. They introduced themselves as Alexander and Arthur. They were head of the King's guards and were very proud of their titles, so she noticed.

Next was an older gentleman with an accent that Emma couldn't place. He seemed sweet and nice when he introduced himself as Gepetto and his son, Pinocchio, who played silently on the floor beside his elderly father.

Then came one of the most curious members sitting around the table; a cricket. Emma had guessed this was Jiminy Cricket before he had even said so into the microphone-thing he spoke through. At first, Emma hadn't been able to take her eyes off him- what with his tiny hat, waistcoat and shoes, and, well, the fact that he was a talking cricket.

Flittering above Gepetto and Jiminy was the Blue Fairy. Obviously, this fairy was a big deal, but Emma just didn't quite like her know-it-all attitude. Not to mention her dress was totally slutty and ridiculous.

Sitting beside the bug was a petite brunette. She was pretty and cute and completely ordinary-looking, which made Emma very curious. The girl's name was Belle, and she earned a seat here because the girl was seriously smart. She had a few books on the table in front of her, to which she kept casting her eyes longingly at, as if she would rather jump in and disappear in one of those stories than sit around here. Emma completely agreed. Right now, she was bored out of her mind. All they were doing were discussing the same thing over and over; what to do about the 'Sickness'?

Emma eyes continued around the circle. After Belle, sat Neal- Baelfire, whatever- looking very serious. Emma's eyes quickly skipped over him before he could catch her looking, to land on a blonde girl dressed entirely in green. Tinker Bell was a fairy, like Blue, but she explained that she preferred to sit in human size instead of float around exhausting her newly regained wings over everyone's heads like a bug.

Last but not least, Regina was directly on the King's left. She sat regally in her seat, exactly like she belonged there. But other than looking beautiful and regal and whatever else went with looking like an awesome queen, Regina looked about as bored as Emma felt. Whenever Snow, Blue or Neal would pipe up, she gave an exaggerated eye roll, and Emma had to use all of her willpower to not burst into a loud fit of laughter. Their eyes made contact with often, and they shared small smiles and looks of boredom and annoyance.

In the shadows, Hook watched over the scene, commenting here and there whenever it suited him. Near him, stood another man with a bow slung on his back. He was cute and nice. He called himself Robin of Locksley; as in Robin Hood, the great thief of thieves. After introducing himself, he stayed quiet; observing the meeting like, well, an observer.

Emma's ears suddenly picked up the tread of conversation that was being held, mainly by Blue and Jiminy.

"We now have the Savior with us, our hope is restored," the cricket chirped.

"Yes, the Savior is with us. She will certainly stop all the Witches evil doings here. The product of True Love can conquer all," Blue agreed annoyingly, "But, clearly something needs to be done about her memory. She is a simple human now; completely devoid of any magic-"

"I told all of you this before you sent the ship out for her," Regina spoke up, sounding very pissed. "I explained quite clearly that the spell I cast on Emma and Henry upon their departure would give them both new memories of a good life they could have had without magic. I _know_ I explained that I might not be able to find a cure to lift it _before_ the pirate and midgets took off."

"We're dwarfs, lady," Grumpy corrected her.

"Whatever," she completely dismissed the fact that he had spoken and kept her irritated gaze locked on Blue.

"Well, Regina, it seems one of your spells is causing heartache and misfortune on us all. Again." This time, the floating fairy sounded just plain bitchy. Regina's irritation instantly shot to white hot anger and she looked like she was ready to play target practice with fire balls, using Blue as the target.

"Obviously we want to cure Emma's memory, that's why we brought her and Henry back," Charming spoke calmly, sensing Regina's nearing outburst. He placed a gentle hand on Regina's shoulder.

The brunette looked as if she would shake it off and snap at him, but at the last second, she took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, anger simmering back down to irritation and a throbbing headache.

"So, we are going to keep working on finding a cure for the memory spell, as well as a spell that can possibly help the situation with the Sickness," right on cue, Snow picked up where her husband left off, bringing them all back to the original topic of the meeting.

"No shit, Sherlock," Regina mumbled under her breath and Emma stifled a snort-like laugh, which earned her a look from nearly everyone at the table.

"Yes, we will. She may not remember, but Emma is still the Savior," Jiminy said.

"Indeed she is, and she will save us!" Blue chimed in nauseatingly.

By this time, Emma had had enough. Her mirth created by Regina's snide comment morphed back into the anger that had grown with Regina's all through the meeting. Blue had just pushed said anger to its boiling point. "Enough!" she yelled, cutting off whatever anyone might have said next. "You guys can't just talk about me like I'm not here, like I'm just some tool for you all!" she stared down everyone at the table. "I'll make this easier; I'm just going to go and you can finish your little meeting that is getting us nowhere. When you're done, you can come find me. Should be easy; I'm the only 'Savior' in a red leather jacket around here." With that she stood and abruptly walked out of the conference room.

Behind Emma's retreating form, still sitting back in her seat at the table, Regina smiled at everyone's stunned silence and Emma's unique way of exiting a room full of idiots. _Her manner almost reminds me of myself,_ she mused.

****SWANQUEEN****

Emma sat with her back to the large oak. Its shade kept the warm rays of the sun off her pale skin. The grass under her was long, soft and normal. The bark of the tree was rough and solid and normal against her back. Normal. That's what Emma needed when she stormed out of the meeting. Nothing was normal for her or Henry anymore. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She smelled the earthy sent of the grass beneath her, the leaves above her, the dirt, and, if she really concentrated, she could smell the salt water that surrounded this island castle.

She reopened her eyes. Just a few yards away, stood a stable full of horses and a fenced in coral where a few of them roamed and grazed lazily on the long, bright green grass. Henry stood in the center of the coral, petting a dark chocolate coloured horse with a white stripe running down the length of its nose. A knight stood with him holding the reins, instructed by the King and Queen to watch over the boy and give him a tour of the castle and the grounds while the adults were in the council chamber.

From what Emma could see, the knight was nice to her son. Both of them were talking and laughing while patting the horse. The knight pulled out a green apple from a sac that lay at his feet. He handed the apple to Henry, who lifted it in offering to the large animal. It sniffed the fruit, and then gently ate it out of the boy's outstretched hand. Emma smiled as Henry laughed at the tickling sensation of the horse lipping his palm.

Emma sat there quietly for several more minutes. She looked up at the sound of soft footsteps approaching and the rustle of clothing.

Regina walked towards the blond, and Emma thought she looked fairly out of place here with the trees, grass and dirt. The woman's tight fitting dress contrasted darkly with the surrounding bright green foliage.

"That was quite an exit, dear." Regina's eyes sparkled with humour. "I deeply enjoyed the shocked expressions of your parents, as well as that of the unnerving blue bug."

Emma stood, brushing the grass and dirt from her jeans. "I'm glad I could amuse you. Have they figured out what it is I'm supposed to do?"

"Nothing besides the obvious. They're all idiots, which is why I am going to find a cure for your memory. Maybe that will wake them up."

Emma nodded. Her eyes went from the Queen to Henry. He was now attempting to mount the steed, with the help of his guardian knight. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Regina replied.

"You were Henry's adoptive mother. You took care of him; you love him… why don't you spend time with him now that you have him back?" she looked back at Regina and was horrified to see tears swimming in the woman's eyes. "Whoa, hey, what is it?" Emma stepped closer to her and placed a comforting hand on her arm. Knowingly or not, Regina leaned into Emma's comforting touch. The blond watched the woman's face closely and silently for a few moments to let Regina find an answer when she was ready.

The dark haired Queen took her time. She studied the boy she had raised since he was 3 weeks old. He seemed so much older than he was when they were separated, though it had only been a year. How she had dreamt of seeing him again, of holding him, touching his hair, hear him call her Mom… now he was finally here, close enough for her to hold onto, and yet, her Henry was still unreachable.

"It hurts," she said honestly, "It's just too painful to be around him and not have him recognize me at all." Regina blinked her eyes clear, but not before one daring tear escaped and trailed down her tan cheek. Her eyes found Emma's and her lips tilted up in a forced smile. "I'll wait until he remembers me."

Emma stood shocked at the woman's honesty. It hadn't even occurred to her how difficult it must be for her to have her son so close and for him to not have the slightest memory of over ten years of being a family!

"I'm sorry," was all she could say.

Regina cleared her throat and shook her head slightly. "I'll be ok. I'm just glad to see he's happy." This time her smiled wasn't as forced; it nearly reached her eyes.

"I know you will be; you're strong. If it helps, Henry does know who you are. Thanks to the book you sent with Neal, he has an idea of what you two went through. He will remember, Regina. I know it. We both will." Emma tried to comfort the Queen. She knew that this was not a woman who is usually so open with expressing her pain and sorrow.

"Can I ask you a question now?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you come back?"

"Well, at first I agreed just to make the pirate stop stalking me," she began, "but he said a few things that were very convincing. Then there was Neal. As far as I knew, he had never been crazy or delusional. He's a jerk, but not a crazy jerk. Plus, there was a ship full of dwarfs who also believed I was this Savior with a messed up memory. I figured, either a bunch of people are downright nuts, or there really was something up with our memories." Emma finished. Though all of this was true, these had help convince her, Emma kept her main reason for believing Hook to herself; the mention of Regina, the dream, the connection and the feeling the name stirred up within her.

"I take it True Love's Kiss didn't work," Regina said with a smirk.

Emma groaned and leaned back against the tree. "Could a kiss honestly fix all of this?"

"Only True Love's Kiss could. It is the most powerful magic of all. You'll hear that a lot around your parents," Regina said with a chuckle. "I warn you: it gets quite nauseating."

Emma sighed. "No, the kiss didn't work. Neither one did; with Pirate Boy or Neal. I felt nothing but shock and some serious anger."

"I'm glad it's not either of them; they're real dicks," Regina said with her first honest laugh in a year.


	10. Mother

Chapter nine

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes**

Emma refused to have Henry separated from her during the night, so she and him were sharing a chamber her parents provided for them, adjacent to their own. It was bigger and much more tastefully decorated than any other place Emma had lived in. _Even nicer than our apartment back in New York, _Emma admitted. The walls were a deep, rich red with painted flowers, birds and leaves of a lighter red, all put together in a sort of intricate abstract forest scene. The furniture was all dark oak, beautifully carven into chairs, desks, tables, armoires, chaise lounge, and canopied king sized bed. The fabrics were all golden satins. The cushions were all embroidered with more birds and flowers and leaves, as were the bed linens.

Emma and Henry had agreed that she would take the bed, and he the chaise. Henry believed he was too old to share a bed with his mother, and tried to prove himself a man by offering more comfort to the _woman._ She had laughed and said it was very gentlemanly of him. He groaned and walked off mumbling something about always being treated like a little kid.

Now, curled up in a thick blanket that probably- definitely- cost more than Emma's bug, Henry did look like a little kid. In sleep, his face relaxed and his hair was messed. His lips were tilted up in a smile, probably due to a dream of riding horses and fighting off dragons, as any prince would do.

Emma gently ran her fingers through his light brown hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead. When she looked up, Snow was standing in the doorway smiling at her daughter and grandson. Emma thought it amazing how the woman looked no more than thirty-five, but was a mother to a 30 year old, as well a grandmother. It would have made her envious, if she hadn't been aware the story and heartbreak behind the youth.

Her mother's hair was loose, falling in onyx waves around her shoulders to her waist. She wore a simple white silk robe over a white nightgown. Dressed all in white, Emma nearly laughed at Snow White and the irony. She hid a small chuckle in a quiet cough and cleared her throat. "Hi," she said.

"Hey," Snow replied. She stepped farther into the room. "Is the room okay?"

"Yeah the room's great!" Emma assured her.

"Good." The raven haired woman looked away from Emma and let her eyes fall on Henry's sleeping form. "He looks so much younger when he sleeps."

"I was just thinking that."

"Emma, I'm sorry, I just need to ask again: do you really not remember us at all?" her eyes looked sad when they met Emma's again.

Emma was reminded of the thought she had while she had been talking to Regina. She was this woman's only child, and she didn't remember her at all. Not even a glimmer of familiarity came from this woman to Emma. She felt terrible because of it.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry."

"I am sorry. It's just so hard to believe my only daughter- only child- doesn't remember me, so soon after we found each other." Emma's heart began to ache at the pain in her mother's voice. The woman was near tears.

"The spell did its job," was all she could say. She prayed it didn't sound cold and hurtful.

"Even the strongest, most powerful spells and curses have holes." Her gaze was steady and her voice was strong and her eyes filled with hope and no longer brimming with pain-filled tears.

"I guess. But I am sorry, I don't remember anything." Emma's mind instantly went to her dream. _Okay, so that's not the whole truth, but she wouldn't understand. _She quickly began unmaking the bed and kept her eyes from the nearly identical ones that watched her every move.

"You know, Emma, we didn't know each other for very long, but you are my daughter, and you were my good friend before. So, I can tell when you're lying."

Emma blinked in absolute bewilderment. _Well, shit. So much for my plan of keeping it quiet!_

"Come on, out with it," Snow urged her.

"Well," Emma began hesitantly, "you are my mom, I guess. And we were close friends… what the hell! Maybe you'll be able to figure out what this might mean." She flopped down on the bed and motioned to Snow to sit with her, which she did, gratefully. "So, umm, uh-hem, during the past year, I've been having this same dream. It starts off with purple, sweet smelling smoke, all around me. Through the smoke, I see different shapes and things. I see flames, but, they don't move like regular fire would. It's almost like it has a mind of its own and a will of its own. Then I see apples, bright red apples and sometimes an apple tree. The last thing I usually see through the smoke, is a pair of dark, caramel brown eyes. Then I wake up."

All the while Emma recalled her dream, Snow's stomach tightened and her heart sank. Of course she knew what- or who- Emma had been dreaming of. She let her daughter continue, trying her best not to let her unease show.

"While Hook was trying to convince me of everything, he named off a bunch of people; you, Charming, Ruby… and he mentioned the name Regina. That name… it's kinda like it pricked an old, forgotten memory, or feeling. It made me think of my dream and somehow I just knew that the two went together."

Emma and Snow sat quietly. No one said anything after Emma had finished. Snow felt almost sick. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and spoke, "So, that's why you agreed to come back." She didn't frame it like a question. She knew the answer.

Emma looked away this time. It was true; that had been her main reason for surrendering to Hook's pleas. "It was a big part of it," she said honestly. "It was the only thing he said that actually seemed to make sense to me! No one knows about the dream; not even Henry. So, when Hook mentioned the name… it felt like he might really know what he's talking about -that he was really telling the truth and that I had a family that needed my help." Emma's eyes pleaded for Snow to understand. She never meant to hurt her, or anyone else! She hadn't even known she knew any of the people she had met in the past two days. She hadn't even known they existed! She hadn't known her parents were alive! Emma struggled to convey, in her gaze, all the emotions surging through her that she hadn't felt until only a day ago. Instinctively she felt she could trust them or how could she have let Henry out of her sight? But, she didn't _know_ she trusted them; couldn't _feel_ the trust between them.

Snow regarded her daughter with understanding. She understood that Emma wasn't purposefully putting her through this heartache. She watched Emma's shoulders slump and heard the tired exhale escape her lips as the younger blond laid back. _This must all be so confusing for her, _Snow thought. Realizing that everything you remembered was basically made up had to be a struggle for her.

Emma looked tiredly over at her newly-re-found mother. She attempted a hopeful smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace.

Snow gently reached over and took her daughters pale hand in her even lighter one. She had no way to truly reassure her, nor really comfort her. She just said the only truth she had in her heart and her deepest hope, "We will get your memories back," through the compressed feeling in her stomach that screamed what could be the possible truth for Emma's partial memory of Regina.


End file.
